Help With a Healthy Diet During and After Cancer

When I was a Dietetic Intern at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital (NYP), my favorite rotation was Oncology. Not only were the patients the best (I can explain it other than to say that, collectively, they had an infectious good spirit) but also, it was rewarding to be able to offer my patients relief from side effects of cancer treatment by suggesting small changes to their dietary intake. For example, eating small, frequent meals throughout the day may make it easier to keep down food and consume much needed calories and nutrients when dealing with nausea, vomiting, mouth sores, taste changes, and/or negative reactions to the smell of food. After my own diagnosis of DCIS (ductal carcinoma in situ; pre-invasive breast cancer), I am even more interested in nutrition as it relates to cancer.

So, I was excited when Living Beyond Breast Cancer recently hosted a Twitter chat, called "Healthy Eating After A Breast Cancer Diagnosis." One of the panelists of the LBBC Twitter chat was Stacy Kennedy, MPH, RD, CSO, LDN, a fellow Registered Dietitian (RD), and a Board Certified Specialist in Oncology Nutrition, who works at the Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center in Boston, Massachusetts. Stacy shared a great resource for those who have questions about nutrition, and food safety, during and after a cancer diagnosis. 

---

Personal Ink: A healing art

BTW - P.ink is pronounced "pea ink"

The idea to adorn my own mastectomy scar with a tattoo came to me before I'd had any of my surgeries, while reading Geralyn Lucas' Why I Wore Lipstick to My Mastectomy. At the end of the breast cancer memoir, Geralyn shares how she opted to not get nipple reconstruction but instead got a small winged heart tattooed near her mastectomy scar. I too had decided not to go with any of the available nipple reconstruction options and the moment I read about Geralyn's tattoo I knew this was something I needed to do.

I heard about Personal Ink last fall. This organization would be providing breast cancer survivors with mastectomy tattoos on "P.ink Day", which would be held in my own hometown of Brooklyn, NY, 3 years to the day since my doctor called to say cancerous cells had been found in the tissue taken during the core biopsy done on my left breast. I told my husband I was getting a free tattoo and he said "um...things you pay for" but tattoos are really expensive (one reason I hadn't yet gotten one), I didn't know the first thing about finding an experienced artist on my own (P.ink would provide artists who have mastectomy tattooing skills) and these people seemed legit (P.ink was founded by the VP, Director of Experience Design at ad agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky).

Don't Stop Getting Mammos

This past week, my mom and I attended a discussion on breast cancer at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC). The talk was part of an ongoing series at MSKCC called CancerSmart:

"Memorial Sloan Kettering experts discuss the latest information on cancer-related topics, as well as advances in diagnosis, treatment, and research at our CancerSmart talks. We believe the more you know, the better equipped you will be to make informed choices about your health. 

Programs are presented in the fall and spring on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. They are free and open to everyone. They are also available via live webcast. Join the conversation on Twitter at #CancerSmart."

Here are 5 takeaways I got from the interesting and engaging panel discussion.

New Support Group on Long Island

One of the awesome resources offered by Young Survival Coalition (YSC), the breast cancer organization I volunteer with as a State Leader, is the F2F Networking program.

YSC "offers resources, connections and outreach so women feel supported, empowered and hopeful" and F2F (Face 2 Face) Networks offer all those things at once. 

According to the YSC website, "Local YSC Face 2 Face networks are support and networking for Young Women Affected by Breast Cancer (YWABC). YSC F2F networks are local grassroots groups that allow you and other YWABC in your community to connect!"

Before each of my breast cancer surgeries I attended these F2F meetings at the New York City headquarters of YSC. They were, and still are, called "WOW" meetings (Women on Wednesdays. Yes, we love our acronyms at YSC!). These meetings were so much more than support group gatherings. I met many strong women who, while going through a difficult time themselves, just wanted to reach out to other women like them to share information and resources they'd come across.

FREE Breast Cancer Talks in NYC; Food Delivery in TX; Paxil & Breast Cancer Risk

RESOURCES: This new resource has been added to the right frame

The Hippo Kitchen - Food Delivery to Cancer Patients in Texas
I learned about this food delivery service from the article "Catering to Cancer Patients" by Leesha Lentz, in the December 2013 issue of Today's Dietitian. According to the service's website: "The Hippo Kitchen, located in Houston, TX sells, produces and delivers nutritionally supportive meals to people preparing for cancer treatment, undergoing cancer treatment and to those who have completed their treatment. We specialize in meals comprised of ingredients that have been proven to combat cancer and the many effects of treatment."


FREE: Two Upcoming Talks in NYC from Memorial Sloan Kettering

FREE Exercise Program for New York Cancer Patients and Survivors

 

In 2009 the American College of Sports Medicine formed a panel of researchers to develop exercise guidelines for cancer patients and survivors.

At the time, doctors were telling their cancer patients to avoid exercise but the panel found that physical activity "is safe during and after cancer treatments and results in improvements in physical functioning, quality of life, and cancer-related fatigue in several cancer survivor groups."

Strength for Life, based in New York, is working to spread this news and make fitness programs accessible to cancer patients and survivors "regardless of location and financial limitations."

The Girl With the Breast Cancer Tattoo

Last month I learned that an organization called Personal Ink (P.INK) was organizing an event to provide 10 breast cancer survivors with tattoos to cover or enhance their mastectomy scars. 

Now, I had spent the past 3 years considering getting a mastectomy tattoo to encapsulate and honor all that my husband and I had gone through during my breast cancer journey. I wanted to have something I could keep with me forever to remind me of not only the bad things but also all the good things that came of our experience. I had gotten the idea from a book I read (and re-read) before each of my two surgeries. My doctor had offered nipple reconstruction (creating a nipple out of the skin on the breast area) and/or nipple tattooing (coloring the area with permanent ink to create the appearance of a nipple). This just did not resonate with me. But when I read Why I Wore Lipstick to My Mastectomy by Geralyn Lucas, I felt I understood her decision when, at the end of the memoir, Geralyn got a tattoo near her mastectomy scar.

P.INK DAY would take place in Brooklyn, New York (where I live) on October 21, 2013 -- 3 years to the day my doctor called to confirm that cancerous cells had been found in my breast tissue. Just days before learning of the event I was thinking this month felt right for getting my tattoo. The whole thing sounded too good to be true. If it was true, it was meant to be.